The state government is in talks with the Home Ministry and the Foreign Ministry on the fate of some 170 North Korean workers in Sarawak.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said they are mostly specialised workers working in the Selantik coal field in Sri Aman Division and on a hydro project in Lawas.

"We are talking to our Home Ministry and the Foreign Ministry on their positions.

"We will wait for the advice from the Foreign Ministry," he said today.

He was met by reporters after officially opening a four-day forum on Forest Landscape Restoration for some 250 participants from the state, Sabah and peninsular Malaysia in Kuching.

Abang Johari added the issue was a very delicate one and any decision would take some time to reach.

This is following the tense bilateral relationships between Malaysia and North Korea in the aftermath of the murder of a North Korean citizen, widely reported to be Kim Jong-nam, the estranged haf-brother of the North Korean leader.

- Bernama